Fruit-packing trays



Aug. 6, 1963 G.MARTELL1 ETAL FRUIT-PACKING TRAYS Original Filed 001'.. 24, 1957 un A/ uk. VR

f s e 1N UENTORS LLI ARTELLI W y JTORNEYS EEM Tm R AA MMS E ADVOC .IN G R United States Patent O M' 3,100,055 FRUIT-PACKING TRAYS Guido Martelli, Nerio Martelli, and Francesco Martelli,

Bologna, Italy, assignors to Compagnia Italiana Nestpack S.p.A., Bologna, italy Original application Oct. 24, 1957, Ser. No. 692,127. Divzirsled and this application Oct. 31, 1960, `Saer. No. 3 2

Claims priority, application Italy July 15, 1957 Claims. (Cl. 217-265) This invention relates generally to improvements in fruit-packing trays and more particularly to trays made of a iilm or light sheet material, such as polyvinyl resin having a thickness of from 0.1 to 0.3 mm. and aims to provide a tray having a plurality of pocket defining posts, or of posts in combination with rest members oi lower height -for supporting the projecting and smaller portions of a pear.

An object of this invention is to provide trays which are particularly adapted for the packing of pear-like fruits which are protected Ifrom injury while disposed in the tray.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the trays are provided with hollow seats or pockets which are defined by preferably three substantially high posts and by an equal number `of rest members of lower height, each disposed between a pair of posts, the nest members supporting fthe elongated stem portion of the pears.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the rest members are omitted and the elongated stem portion of the pears simply rests on the bottom of the tray.

'I'his application is a division of our prior, copending application Serial No. 692,127, ltiled Oct. 24, 1957, which issued Jan. 22, 1963, as Patent No. 3,074,582.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set 'forth with particularity in the appended claims. 'The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the 4following description ot specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout Ithe several iigures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1A is a similar plan view of a modified embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the plane dened by II-Il of FIG. 1, and

IFIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment of a tray which is particularly adapted for the packing oi pears and which substantially consists of a flat sheet 1 provided wit-h a number of spaced, hollow, frustro-pyramidal posts 3 arranged at the apices of imaginary equilateral triangles.

The rounded bottom parts ont the pear B are inserted in the seats 2 which are bounded by a set `ot three posts 3. The pears are inserted with their bottom parts against one :of said posts so that the elongated stem portion of the pears projects into the tree space between and beyond the other two posts of the set of three and towards the bottom post 3- of the adjacent set.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. l and 2, hollow rustro-pyramidal rest members 4 of lower height than the post 3 (FIG. 2) are provided between the posts 3. The arrangement is such that each seat 2 is bounded by three posts and three rest members arranged alternately 3,100,055 Patented Aug. 6, 1963 ICC and the elongated stem part of fthe pears rests on the rest members 4. The embodiment as shown in FIG. 1A 1s the same as that shown in FIG. 1, except that the walls of the posts 3 and the rest members 4 bounding the seats 2 are provided with longitudinal ribbing 6 which imparts a degree of springiness to said walls.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 is the same as that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that the rest members 4 are omitted. In this case the elongated stern part of the pears simply rests on the bottom of lthe tray. Note that in this embodiment also, a number of spaced, hollow, frustro-pyramidal posts 3 are provided in a at sheet `1 and arranged at the apices of imaginary equilateral triangles, one of which is shown in dot-dash lines. The posts 3' dene pockets 2 into which the larger rounded portion of the pear is inserted.

As pears are usually quite hard fruits, it is not obsolutely necessary to provide for substantial springiness in the walls of the posts and/or rest members, and trays for the packing of pears may therefore be manufactured from relatively hard materials, such as thick synthetic resin sheets or cardboard, papier mache or the like.

It will be appreciated 'from the foregoing that the dimensions of the various embodiments described are such that lthe fruit-packing trays may be stacked on top ont one another tor packing into cases without damaging the fruit contained in the trays, the weight of (the superposed trays being borne by the projections.

Although centain speciiic embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many modiiications thereof are possible insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit or the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

l. A fruit-packing tray comprising a dat sheet of thermoplastic synthetic resin, a number of regularly spaced fruit seats on said tray deiined by walls of hollow trusto-pyramidal posts upstanding from the sheet at the apices of equilateral triangles of equal size lying in -the plane of the sheet, the adjacent triangles having a common side whereby each of said posts except those at the margin of the sheet is common to three of said seats, said walls of the posts being provided with parallel corrugations of gently clamping truits resting on said seats, and a plurality of substantially flat-topped rest members upstanding rfrom said sheet to a lower height than the posts and disposed between adjacent posts.

2. A fruit-packing tray according to claim 1 in which each of said seats is defined and bounded by three posts and three rest members positioned alternately.

3. A 4fruit-packing tray according to claim 2, in which the yieldable sheet material is a sheet of thermoplastic synthetic resin having a thickness of from 0.1 to 0.3 mm.

4. A fruit-packing tray according to claim 3 in which the thermoplastic synthetic resin is a polyvinyl resin.

5. A fruit-packing tray according to claim 2, in which the walls of said rest members are also provided with parallel eorrugations.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,850,584 Gray Mar. 22, 1932 2,014,851 Kronenberger Sept. 17, 1935 2,311,473 Sohwartzbeng Feb. 16, 1943 2,657,998 Peters Nov. 3 1953 2,691,456 Shepard Oct. 12, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 66,019 Netherlands July l5, 1950 

1. A FRUIT-PACKING TRAY COMPRISING A FLAT SHEET OF THERMOPLASTIC SYNTHETIC RESIN, A NUMBER OF REGULARLY SPACED FRUIT SEATS ON SAID TRAY DEFINED BY WALLS OF HOLLOW FRUSTO-PYRAMIDAL POSTS UPSTANDING FROM THE SHEET AT THE APICES OF EQUILATERAL TRIANGLES OF EQUAL SIZE LYING A THE PLANE OF THE SHEET, THE ADJACENT TRIANGLES HAVING A COMMON SIDE WHEREBY EACH OF SAID POSTS EXCEPT THOSE AT THE MARGIN OF THE SHEET IS COMMON TO THREE OF SAID SEATS, SAID WALLS OF THE POSTS BEING PROVIDED WITH PARALLEL 